Expositional

The Two-Edged Sword (Christ Church)

Christ Church on February 24, 2025

INTRODUCTION

Charles Spurgeon once offered a humble recommendation for how to defend the Bible. He kept it quite simple, “Let it defend itself.” His statement gets to the heart of our problem. We want to hold up the Word of God, forgetting that it holds us up. We want to cut with the Sword of the Spirit rather than have it cut us. We treat the sword like it is an inanimate object in need of the living to wield it. But our text says the word is alive and we are the ones in need of animation. We’re the ones in need of entering into rest, being prodded to enter that rest by the two-edged sword.

SURVEY OF THE TEXT- HEBREWS 4:11-13

Given the example of the Israelites, many of whom after being delivered out of Egypt still died in the desert, new covenant saints must labor to enter that rest (v. 11). That rest is not just any rest, more about this particular rest in a moment. We can enter that rest because of the Word of God, which is quick and powerful, sharper than the sword that splits the heart (soul and spirit), body (joints and marrow), and mind (thoughts and intents) (v. 12). This Living Word doesn’t only carve up the individual, it exposes all of creation, every creature being laid open today by the same Word to whom they will one day give an account (v. 13).

INTO THAT REST

The rest here described is a very particular kind of rest. It is called that rest. And that rest was defined in the previous verse, “For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his”(v. 10). God’s rest was previously described as “the seventh day” when God rested from His work of creation (v. 4). But in verse 10 we hear of another, who entered into His rest like God did from His own. And then our text in verse 11 says that the saints should enter into that rest, namely the man’s rest from verse 10. So who is that man?

The context identifies that man as Jesus Christ, who “is passed into the heavens” (v.14). As God rested from His work of creation so Christ has rested from His work of redemption. And the saints must labor to enter that rest, the rest of Christ’s completed work. There is a future fulfillment of this rest when you arrive in heaven. But there is a present reality of this rest for all those who will have it.

THE WORD OF GOD IS QUICK

Verse 11 provides the directive but it doesn’t supply the fuel for completing the directive. You can hear the exhortation to enter into rest well enough and still be left troubled about how you’re actually going to enter in. Even if Christ is in you, your flesh is no help at all, “And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin” (Romans 8:10). But verse 12 supplies the remedy. Enter into Christ’s rest “for the word of God is quick.”

The Word of God in this passage is not merely the prophets and the apostles but the Living Christ Himself. Quick in our text is often translated living. And the same sense comes through in both words. The Christ Word is always up to something. Creation itself was formed by that Word. The soul of man was formed by the same— “The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him” (Zechariah 12:1). New life comes by this same Word (1 Peter 1:23). The maintenance and maturity of that new life comes likewise (John 17:17).

In whatever the Christ Word is up to, He is effectual. God says through the prophet Isaiah that His Word is like rain or snow from heaven and it will prosper in the thing whereto He sent it (Isaiah 55:11). But that prospering is not as straight-forward as some make it out to be. His sword cuts to the dividing of soul and spirit, joints and marrow, thoughts and intentions. It goes places we can’t go and accomplishes there things we can’t accomplish.

What it accomplishes is always good, but it can take us by surprise. God’s Word is a fire that melts cold hearts and a hammer that breaks hard hearts (Jeremiah 23:29). So this Christ Word enfleshed dry bones in Ezekiel’s valley and, at the same time, disemboweled King Jehoram due to his sin. This two-edged sword plagued Pharaoh, hanged Haman, and sent dogs to eat Jezebel (2 Kings 9:10). But it also humbled Nebuchadnezzar, turned Manasseh from his evil way, and spared Nineveh.

CREATION EXPOSED

This living and effectual Word is the same Word to whom man will one day give an account. Verse 13 says that all things are already exposed before the eyes of Him with whom we have to do. This is a reference to the judgment seat of Christ— “For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ . . . So then ever one of us shall give account of himself to God” (Romans 14:10, 12). But the only way to give a faithful account to the Word it to have that Word carve you up. The only way to go before Christ with a load of good works done in the body is to enter into His rest.

The Fall of Saul (CC Troy)

Christ Church on February 24, 2025

1 SAMUEL 19

And Saul spake to Jonathan his son, and to all his servants, that they should kill David.

2 But Jonathan Saul’s son delighted much in David: and Jonathan told David, saying, Saul my father

seeketh to kill thee: now therefore, I pray thee, take heed to thyself until the morning, and abide in a

secret place, and hide thyself:

3 And I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where thou art, and I will commune with

my father of thee; and what I see, that I will tell thee.

4 And Jonathan spake good of David unto Saul his father, and said unto him, Let not the king sin

against his servant, against David; because he hath not sinned against thee, and because his works

have been to thee-ward very good:

5 For he did put his life in his hand, and slew the Philistine, and the Lord wrought a great salvation

for all Israel: thou sawest it, and didst rejoice: wherefore then wilt thou sin against innocent blood, to

slay David without a cause?

6 And Saul hearkened unto the voice of Jonathan: and Saul sware, As the Lord liveth, he shall not be

slain.

7 And Jonathan called David, and Jonathan shewed him all those things. And Jonathan brought Da-

vid to Saul, and he was in his presence, as in times past.

8 And there was war again: and David went out, and fought with the Philistines, and slew them with

a great slaughter; and they fled from him.

9 And the evil spirit from the Lord was upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his javelin in his hand:

and David played with his hand.

10 And Saul sought to smite David even to the wall with the javelin: but he slipped away out of

Saul’s presence, and he smote the javelin into the wall: and David fled, and escaped that night.

11 Saul also sent messengers unto David’s house, to watch him, and to slay him in the morning: and

Michal David’s wife told him, saying, If thou save not thy life to night, to morrow thou shalt be slain.

12 So Michal let David down through a window: and he went, and fled, and escaped.

13 And Michal took an image, and laid it in the bed, and put a pillow of goats’ hair for his bolster,

and covered it with a cloth.

14 And when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, He is sick.

15 And Saul sent the messengers again to see David, saying, Bring him up to me in the bed, that I

may slay him.

16 And when the messengers were come in, behold, there was an image in the bed, with a pillow of

goats’ hair for his bolster.

17 And Saul said unto Michal, Why hast thou deceived me so, and sent away mine enemy, that he is

THE FALL OF SAUL / 1 SAMUEL 19escaped? And Michal answered Saul, He said unto me, Let me go; why should I kill thee?

18 So David fled, and escaped, and came to Samuel to Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done

to him. And he and Samuel went and dwelt in Naioth.

19 And it was told Saul, saying, Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah.

20 And Saul sent messengers to take David: and when they saw the company of the prophets proph-

esying, and Samuel standing as appointed over them, the Spirit of God was upon the messengers of

Saul, and they also prophesied.

21 And when it was told Saul, he sent other messengers, and they prophesied likewise. And Saul sent

messengers again the third time, and they prophesied also.

22 Then went he also to Ramah, and came to a great well that is in Sechu: and he asked and said,

Where are Samuel and David? And one said, Behold, they be at Naioth in Ramah.

23 And he went thither to Naioth in Ramah: and the Spirit of God was upon him also, and he went

on, and prophesied, until he came to Naioth in Ramah.

24 And he stripped off his clothes also, and prophesied before Samuel in like manner, and lay down

naked all that day and all that night. Wherefore they say, Is Saul also among the prophets?

Sin and the One-Two Punch (CC Troy)

Christ Church on February 17, 2025

INTRODUCTION

Many passages in the Bible speak of the glory of God’s creation. Psalm 19 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” Psalm 95 says, “The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. Psalm 104 says, “How many are your works Lord! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. There is the sea, vast and spacious, teeming with creatures beyond number—living things both large and small.” The first category we think of is nature. From the towering peaks of the Andes in Venezuela, to the great freshwater lakes of Michigan, to the parched sands of the Sahara the Lord has made a variety of breathtaking biomes for life to flourish in. The water cycle refreshes the earth with vitality. The seasons form a natural rhythm for life. The day and night cycle establishes periods of activity and rest. The stars and the moon give light by night. And the sun sheds its energy, light, and warmth by day.

THE PROBLEM

The problem of sin is old, deep, wide, and even transcends our physical reality into the heavenly realm. But we are Calvinists. There are elect angels and non-elect angels. This means, thanks be to God, there is a purpose to all of this. To the pagan, death is just a part of life. You’re born, you live a meaningless life, and then you die. When the Christian sees death, we say, “There is something wrong with that. That is not natural. Something about this world is fundamentally broken. Romans 8 says, “We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.” Sin is the problem. Sin is the enemy who wants to knock us down. And despite our delusions, we would not have fared any better were it us in the garden being tempted. We would’ve fallen just as they did.

THE JAB

This question about where to place Jesus goes back much further than the 300s. In fact, the author to the Hebrews had to do the same thing. Listen to chapter 1, “Having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. For to which of the angels did God ever say, ‘You are my Son, today I have begotten you.’? Or again, ‘I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son’? And again, when he brings the firstborn in the world, he says, ‘Let all God’s angels worship.’ Now, what prompted this apologetic argument? Why take verses from the Psalter to prove that Jesus is superior to the angels? The readers of the letter to the Hebrews were enamored by angels, attributing to them a power and a standing that was not warranted. And that is understandable because the Bible does present them as very powerful and important beings. Take Galatians 3:19 for example. It says that the law of God was communicated through angels by an intermediary. This is repeated again in Acts chapter 7 at the end of Stephen’s speech. He says, “Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it.” And we have a third reference in Hebrews 2:2.

THE RIGHT-CROSS

It is a strange man who would say, “When I consider a subject worthy of meditation, I gravitate towards judgment day.” But I hope to convince you that that man is not strange at all. That is the sort of man who understands the character of God and the justice of God. We cannot seem to separate in our minds, judgment day, from the concept of terror. In one sense, this is biblical. Hebrews 10:26 says, “if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.” Are you an adversary? Do you keep sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth? No, you take up the shield of faith and the helmet of salvation and you fight against sin. You come here every week to renew covenant. You read the Bible to learn more about the God you serve. You pray to Him and cast your cares on Him. God uses means, even warning passages like this one, to remind us of the severity of God.

CONCLUSION – CHOSEN TO BE SAVED

When judgment comes, it will be a glorious day. There are men and women who have done wicked things in this life. They have cast ruin and destruction. And this is the crucial part, some have gotten away with it. They have escaped the law and they have escaped the avenger who carries the sword in service of God. And so yes, they may have gotten away with it in this life, but they won’t in the next. Justice is coming and as Christians that should give us joy. The victims and the recipients of injustice will have their day. And then at one point it will be your turn. It will be your task to call the demons out of their gloomy darkness and judge them. And when you do consider Nahum 1 as your opening text, “The Lord is a jealous and avenging God; the Lord is avenging and wrathful; the Lord takes vengeance on his adversaries and keeps wrath for his enemies. The Lord is slow to anger and great in power, and the Lord will by no means clear the guilty.”

The Counsel of God (CC Troy)

Christ Church on February 10, 2025

ISAIAH 28:17-29

17 Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep

away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.

18 And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand;

when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.

19 From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by

day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report.

20 For the bed is shorter than that a man can stretch himself on it: and the covering narrower than

that he can wrap himself in it.

21 For the Lord shall rise up as in mount Perazim, he shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that

he may do his work, his strange work; and bring to pass his act, his strange act.

22 Now therefore be ye not mockers, lest your bands be made strong: for I have heard from the Lord

God of hosts a consumption, even determined upon the whole earth.

23 Give ye ear, and hear my voice; hearken, and hear my speech.

24 Doth the plowman plow all day to sow? doth he open and break the clods of his ground?

25 When he hath made plain the face thereof, doth he not cast abroad the fitches, and scatter the

cummin, and cast in the principal wheat and the appointed barley and the rie in their place?

26 For his God doth instruct him to discretion, and doth teach him.

27 For the fitches are not threshed with a threshing instrument, neither is a cart wheel turned about

upon the cummin; but the fitches are beaten out with a staff, and the cummin with a rod.

28 Bread corn is bruised; because he will not ever be threshing it, nor break it with the wheel of his

cart, nor bruise it with his horsemen.

29 This also cometh forth from the Lord of hosts, which is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in

working.

Moses (CC Downtown)

Christ Church on February 5, 2025

EXODUS 2

And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi.

2 And the woman conceived, and bare a son: and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months.

3 And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river’s brink.

4 And his sister stood afar off, to wit what would be done to him.

5 And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the river; and her maidens walked along by the river’s side; and when she saw the ark among the flags, she sent her maid to fetch it.

6 And when she had opened it, she saw the child: and, behold, the babe wept. And she had compassion on him, and said, This is one of the Hebrews’ children.

7 Then said his sister to Pharaoh’s daughter, Shall I go and call to thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for thee?

8 And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, Go. And the maid went and called the child’s mother.

9 And Pharaoh’s daughter said unto her, Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages. And the women took the child, and nursed it.

10 And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. And she called his name Moses: and she said, Because I drew him out of the water.

11 And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their burdens: and he spied an Egyptian smiting an Hebrew, one of his brethren.

12 And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he slew the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand.

13 And when he went out the second day, behold, two men of the Hebrews strove together: and he said to him that did the wrong, Wherefore smitest thou thy fellow?

14 And he said, Who made thee a prince and a judge over us? intendest thou to kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian? And Moses feared, and said, Surely this thing is known.

15 Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to slay Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian: and he sat down by a well.

16 Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters: and they came and drew water, and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock.

17 And the shepherds came and drove them away: but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock.

18 And when they came to Reuel their father, he said, How is it that ye are come so soon to day?

19 And they said, An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds, and also drew water enough for us, and watered the flock.

20 And he said unto his daughters, And where is he? why is it that ye have left the man? call him, that he may eat bread.

21 And Moses was content to dwell with the man: and he gave Moses Zipporah his daughter.

22 And she bare him a son, and he called his name Gershom: for he said, I have been a stranger in a strange land.

23 And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage.

24 And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.

25 And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect unto them.